Florida Injury Lawyer & Attorney : LaBovick & LaBovick Law Firm: Serving West Palm, Boynton, North Palm, West Palm Beach, Jupiter

A common topic that we are asked to explain to clients in our Florida law office is the Florida Law on PIP. There are several misconceptions out there on what PIP covers. This blog  post  will go over the ABC's of Florida Personal Injury Protection Insurance. 

PIP is a guaranteed health insurance policy for a person who is injured in an automobile accident. When a person is injured in an automobile accident if they do not have regular health insurance, but they have PIP insurance, they are guaranteed $10,000 of  health insurance less what ever deductible they have chosen. In other words, the person injured is guaranteed $10,000 worth of health benefits. If they have a $1,000 deductible for example, the first $1,000 of medical bills is their responsibility.

PIP pays 80% of your reasonable and necessary medical bills. The PIP law just changed, so there are Medicare fee schedules that PIP pays 80% of those schedules. For example, if there is a charge for $100, Medicare's fee schedule would be $80. Eighty percent of the first bill would get applied to the deductible. When the deductible is met, PIP then pays 80% of those next  bills, up to $10,000.  One of the benefits  of PIP is that it gives the injured person in an accident, $10,000 of  insurance for their medical bills. It is also the law in Florida as the minimum requirement to operate a vehicle. In the State of Florida, you must have PIP and Property damage insurance.

Is it always the $10,000 limit?
Yes. I have seen on occasion, extended PIP, but those would be associated with out of state policies. I have not seen extended PIP on a Florida policy.

What is the deductible for PIP?
You can manipulate your deductible, meaning you have options too choose from, which includes:  no deductible, $500 deductible or $1,000 deductible.

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Have you paid your Insurance premium lately?  If so, your premiums are helping the Insurance Industry account for over $1 trillion in annual premiums and amass over $3.8 trillion in assets, which happens to be more than the GDPs of all but two countries in the world, the United States and Japan. Despite this overwhelming success, the Insurance still try and do anything to avoid paying claims for their clients.

The consumer rights organization, American Association of Justice, released the comprehensive report, The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America: How They Raise Premiums, Deny Claims, and Refuse Insurance to Those Who Need It Most." This report highlights 10 of the worst insurance companies for consumers based criteria such as, SEC and FBI records, testimony from former insurance agents and adjusters, court documents and more. 

The report ends with making a call for "Pro-Consumer Insurance Reforms" and making a suggestion for the following three points:

1. Require Insurers to Work in Good Faith

2. Require Prior Approval of Rate Increases 

3. Establish an Insurance Consumer Advocate

The remainder of the top 10 list of worst insurance companies for consumers is rounded out by the following:

1. UNUM, - Disability Insurance, Life insurance, supplemental and accident insurance
2. AIG,  - Auto insurance, life insurance, accident and health insurance,  property and casualty
3. State Farm, - Auto, life, health, home owners insurance and health insurance
4. Conseco, - Health Insurance, Life Insurance and Annuities
5. WellPoint, - Health benefits Company
6. Farmers Insurance  - Auto, Life and Homeowners Insurance
7. UnitedHealth, - Health care Insurance
8. Torchmark, - Holding Company offering life and supplemental health insurance
9. Liberty Mutual - Auto, Life, Homeowners and Commercial Insurance.

Over the past 16 years, I have handled thousands of Personal Injury cases against several of the companies on this list and a host of others.  I can attest firsthand that some companies are better than others at handling claims for their Insured and helping the needs of the injured.

I find it no surprise that Allstate made the top of the list, nor am I not surprised by the findings of the report: The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America". I do find it strange however, that the insurance companies are so quick to harm and work against the interest of their own insured clients.

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There is only one word that I think of that can describe how I feel about Allstate Insurance Company: Outrage.  In light of recent events, Allstate Insurance Company is not putting the best interest of their clients first or their 1,100 Agents in Florida.    

Judge Paul Hawkes  wrote the following scathing remarks for a unanimous three-judge panel: “Allstate’s willful, indeed potentially criminal, failure to comply with its disclosure obligations has prevented OIR from adequately investigating its reasoned belief that Allstate is systematically defrauding its policyholders”.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty is not backing down on his request for Allstate Floridian to allow his office free access to its records to end the  statewide shutdown.

“The timeline is in their hands,” McCarty said. “Clearly they have indicated a willingness to provide further documents. It’s unfortunate that it takes a succession of court cases . . . to get their attention.”

One can only hope that Allstate lives up to their corporate slogan  "you're in good hands with Allstate" and they are not found guilty of systematically defrauding unsuspecting policy holders.  Let’s not forget that corporate giants have been known to believe in the philosophy that greed is good; at any cost. Insurance companies that are found defrauding hardworking policy holders that faithfully pay their monthly, quarterly and annual premiums, should be punished to the full extent of the law.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty and Judge Paul Hawkes deserve a round of applause for holding Allstate accountable. One can only hope that a whistleblower with integrity will come forward and shed some light on Allstate's internal practices and policies. 

Click here to read more on this subject from Florida Today.com

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The Allstate Corporation, one of the the nation's largest publicly held insurance companies, recently released approximately 150,000 pages of documents pertaining its review claim practices from the 1990s. Although, some media have regarded the documents as coming up short, according to a recent Times Picayune article.

On the opposite side of  the argument, the release of the documents by Allstate can be viewed as  Allstate's way of showing that they have nothing to hide. Undoubtedly, the Mckinsey documents issue will not go away for awhile, in light of the looming release of the new tell all book for the public by New Mexico attorney David Berardinelli, called "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance."

An Allstate spokesperson, Rich Halberg, downplays the significance of the documents in a recent  Allstate press release, "When aired in the unbiased setting of a court of law, allegations about the documents have been shown to be without merit. Most recently, some of the documents were seen and explained in context to a jury during a two-week trial in Kentucky (Hager v. Allstate)."

The Hager v. Allstate case involved a rear-end automobile accident case that occurred in 1997. The Plaintiff, a 60 year old accident victim, sued Allstate for not paying claims related to the personal injury in the car accident and for allegedly violating Kentucky's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act. The outcome of the two week trial was for the Defendant, Allstate. According to several published reports, the jury came back with this verdict after deliberating for a short while. One can only wonder if the Jury took the Plaintiff seriously for asking for $1.425 Billion for what is typically referred to as a soft tissue injury.

Click here to view the extensive site of the Allstate "Claim Review" documents.  The site shares comprehensive information on Casualty Review, Homeowners Review, Auto Physical Damage Review and Field work Information.

We encourage the public to read the documents and let us know your opinion of the documents.

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Florida's Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department issued a release yesterday regarding the mandatory PIP coverage effective January 1, 2008. In a prior post on the LaBovick Injury Law Blog, we reminded readers of this approaching deadline.

In yesterday's release isued by Florida's Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle department, the following paragraph caught my eye: "Law enforcement, including the Florida Highway Patrol, will be checking proof of insurance roadside and could issue a citation for failing to carry the proper insurance. We are encouraging all motorists to make sure their vehicle is properly insured. If you have questions please contact your insurance carrier/agent to make sure you have the required Personal Injury Protection coverage." 

This is a strong warning that the department is taking this new law seriously.  Please do not get caught without this mandatory PIP Insurance.  If you do not have PIP effective January 1, 2008, your  insurance carrier will cancel your policy and inform the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, who will then suspend your driver’s license and registration. This could be an expensive endeavor to get your license reinstated, fees range from $150 up to $500.

We encourage you to be proactive and make the call to your insurance Agent today to make sure that you are carrying the mandatory PIP coverage January 1, 2008. It can save you money and headaches in the future. I called my Insurance Agent today just to be on the safe side. They reminded me that I took care of this already and not to worry.  I told them, I wanted to make sure one last time, you can never be too sure, with something so important.

To read more from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, click Here. 

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PIP Reminder to All Florida Drivers:

Effective January 1, 2008 - Florida law requires drivers to carry personal injury protection insurance.

You will be receiving a mandatory PIP reminder from your insurance company reminding you of this change.  A word of caution, don't get caught without PIP coverage.  Call your local insurance person and reinstate this mandatory coverage, so you will not forget.

The Florida Insurance Council wants you to know the following about PIP insurance coverage:

• Beginning on Jan. 1, 2008, Florida law requires drivers to maintain PIP insurance coverage which pays covered medical expenses for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle crash by the policyholder, passengers, and relatives residing in the policyholder's household.

•If a policyholder fails to maintain PIP coverage, the State of Florida may suspend the policyholder's driver's license and vehicle registration.

•If a policyholder already has personal injury protection coverage, the coverage will be amended effective Jan. 1, to incorporate legally required changes without any additional premium and that the policyholder need take no further action.

For more information on the Florida PIP Insurance coverage see The Insurance Journal and the Florida Insurance Council White Paper "The Return of Automobile Personal Injury Protection." . (Site Registration required) 

Don't wait, Renew your PIP coverage today.

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I came across an interesting article from the WallStreet Journal that was posted on MSN.com yesterday. The title was one that would raise the eyebrows of any plaintiff injury law firm  "Employers grab accident victims' cash" written by Vanessa Fuhrmans. I am no surprised that this article had a 4.58 rating among the nearly 3000 readers that read it. Personally, I felt it deserved a rating of 5, it was right on the mark.  The large insurance companies can't seem to stop trying to squeeze every little penny out of personal injury victims.  It cited the behemoth, Walmart, going after a brain damaged woman's personal injury settlement of $700,000 and demanding repayment of $470,000. What makes it outrageous is that her personal injury settlement only netted $417,000 after fees and other medical bills were paid.  This money was put in a trust to take care of her medical needs, however, the behemoth Walmart, did not care and felt they were entitled to all their money back plus legal fees.  They sued and won the case and feel no regret or guilt from taking everything from this poor personal injury victim that has no quality of life and s relegated to depend upon Medicaid and Social Security.  When will the large insurance companies stop sucking the blood from personal injury victims and finally learn to do what is right as a good corporate citizen. I wonder will we see this in our lifetime? 

Vanessa  Fuhrmans brings out startling revelations that most people do not know about their medical providers and how they can be in for a rude awakening, if they use their personal health insurance for injuries sustained in a personal injury accident, should their insurance company decide to come after them for reimbursement.  According to the article, some company health plans, reserve the right to recoup the medical expenses it paid for someone's treatment if the person also collects damages in an injury suit. This is becoming a growing trend around the country, as more employer health plan law suits are materializing.

Insurance Companies and large Corporations try to portray Trial Lawyers, especially Personal Injury lawyers as greedy individuals only after the almighty dollar. They should take a look in the mirror and and feel ashamed of themselves. After reading this article, I have a new admiration for good personal injury lawyers around the country that stand up and fight valiantly for justice for the average citizen.

Personal Injury Lawyers, stand up and take a bow for not backing down to these immoral, greedy and money hungry insurance companies and corporations that only care about large profits and finding new ways to exploit the little person.

Click here to read the WSJ Article Employers grab accident victims' cash on MSN.com

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On October 11, 2007, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law effective January 1, 2008 the new Florida No Fault Auto Insurance bill, (House Bill 13C). The original No Fault Law expired October 1, 2007. Therefore, all policyholders whose automobile policies were set to expire between between October 1, 2007 and January 1, 2008 should call their insurance agents to obtain interim coverage or they will have no coverage at all until January 1, 2008. The only mandatory coverage during this interim period is property damage liability coverage.

These individuals should also know that if they are in an accident between October 1, 2007 and January 1, 2008 and are at fault, and the other driver, passenger or pedestrian who is injured does not have their own PIP coverage, they can be sued for everything including pain, suffering, medical bills and loss of earnings.They should therefore purchase adequate bodily injury liability coverage to protect themselves.

These are the key provisions under the new law effective January 1, 2008:

1. PIP will pay 80% of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses up to the $10,000.00 policy limit. This is the same as the old law.
2. A new fee schedule for medical bills limits doctor's reimbursement to 200% of the Medicare rates and the emergency room doctors to 80% of their usual and customary charges.
3. The new law will reserve $5,000 for emergency room doctors and inpatient hospital physicians.
4. The policy will pay 60% of disability benefits, as before, for any loss of gross income and earning capacity from inability to work.
5. It will also pay 100% of reasonable replacement service such as child care, housekeeping and yard work.
6. It will also pay a death benefit of $5,000 per individual, or the remainder of unused PIP benefits, whichever is less.

Liability Lawsuits
In order to be allowed to sue for pain and suffering for injuries resulting from an automobile accident, as before, you must have either of the following:
1. Significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function.
2. Permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, other than scarring or disfigurement.
3. Significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.
4. Death.

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As a Personal Injury Attorney, I come across a lot of interesting cases. When I find one that involves insurance disputes, I take special note. One such case is the  recent Pease v. State Farm. This is a personal injury case involving a police officer and uninsured motorist coverage.

Jason Pease, a sergeant in the Lincoln County’s (Maine) Sheriff’s Office, had a regular take home car.  While off duty on Christmas night in 2002, Sergeant Pease responded to a dispatch call to resolve a disturbance. When he arrived, Sergeant Pease found Michael Montagana causing the problem. Mr. Montagana claimed that he had been drugged and that people were out to get him. Sergeant Pease tried to control the situation but at some point Mr. Montagana ran to the Sergeant's car, got in, and tried to drive away. Sergeant Pease attempted to stop Mr. Montagana and was run over.  As a result, Sergeant Pease suffered severe injuries.

What happened next is disconcerting:

• The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office had elected not to buy Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage to protect its officers.

• The Sheriff’s Office did have Workers Compensation coverage, but it did not adequately provide for Sergeant Pease's condition.

• Sergeant Pease had personal UM coverage through State Farm. 

• State Farm built into its UM coverage an exclusion for vehicles “furnished for [your] regular use”.  According to State Farm, Sergeant Pease was left without a remedy since Sergeant Payne was regularly allowed to take his police car home. The Maine Supreme Court, fortunately, found that once the car was stolen it was no longer supplied for his regular use, and therefore Sergeant Pease’s exclusion did not apply.

What is perhaps most interesting about this decision is that it is not the argument made by the Sergeant's attorneys. Instead, the main Supreme Court reached this conclusion on its own. This decision follows ruling from several other states finding UM coverage for people injured by a thief or carjacker, who had stolen the insured’s own vehicle. 

In the future, when you are renewing your personal car insurance policy, think twice before you try to save money and cancel or downgrade your UM coverage. It may come in handy when you least expect it. You never know...

A few cases that were cited in Pease v. State Farm include:

• State Farm Mutual Auto. Ins. Co. v. Nissen, 851 P. 2d 165, 167-68 (Colo. 1993)
• Comet Casualty Co. v. Jackson, 467 N.E. 2d 269 (Ill. App. Ct. 1984)
• American Prot. Insurance Co. v. Parker, 258 S.E. 2d 540, 544 (Ga. App. 1979)
• Longo v. Market Transition Facility of N.J., 741 A. 2d 149, 152-53 (N.J. App. Div. 1999)
• Guiberson v. Hartford Casualty Ins. Co., 704 P. 2d 68, 74 (Mont. 1985)
• Fontanez v. Texas Farm Bureau Ins. Co., 840 S.W. 2d 647, 650 (Tx. App. 1992)

 

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The Florida Senate issued a release yesterday saying that the September 18th special session will be cancelled.  According to the release, there will be a Fall Special Session instead. This was a lifeline for the Florida PIP No-fault Insurance law.  It is Florida's requirement for Florida drivers to  carry at least $10,000 of no-fault insurance. The requirement to maintain PIP is scheduled to sunset on October 1, 2007. That is unless there is some sort of divine intervention to keep it alive in one form or another, past this date.

Click here to read the Press Release from the Florida Senate.

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We are happy to hear the insurance industry making statements that they will take care of any claims arising out of the Minneapolis bridge collapse tragedy without delay.

According to a vice president at the Insurance Federation of Minnesota, "There will be no exclusions – it will all be coverable."  They expect most claims to be for auto damage, workers' compensation and commercial property damage.

However, let's not rule out lawsuits regarding the maintenance of the the structure. This undertone has been looming in the news of late that the officials were warned some time ago about the dangers of this I-35W Bridge that hosted a heavy volume of traffic through downtown Minneapolis, Minn. 

I can't get over the fact that I drove across the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis several times.  I just can't believe this happened.

The survivors have a lot to be thankful for. This was a natural disaster that could have been prevented.

Stay tuned... I am sure there will be lots of ink regarding lawsuits stemming from the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis.

 Click Here to read more from the Injurance Journal News.

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On Oct. 1, Florida's no-fault car insurance law, around since 1971, and its requirement for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) will likely expire. The June special session, ended without a resolution. Although many proponents have called for an extension of the law, as of this moment in time, it  has not happened.

Both sides have valid arguments in the PIP debate. Our legislators have a tough decision on their hands. According to Hospital lobbyists, the end of the PIP requirement would mean a $350 million loss to hospitals in un-reimbursed medical care. On the Insurance side, Insurance lobbyists claim  that the end of PIP, would only cut a hospitals' profits. Another argument against keeping PIP is  massive amounts of fraud would be eliminated such as fraud rings involving scam artists.

What  will be the fate of the Florida PIP? Only time will tell if Governor Crist and the Florida legislators can save PIP before the clock strikes on October 1.

Click Here to read more on the Florida PIP story from Tallahassee.com

The Law Firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, Civil Justice Prosecutors, is a Plaintiff’s firm. The firm focuses on fighting for Plaintiff’s personal injury victim’s rights in Florida and on qui tam (whistleblower claims) nationwide.  We handle all serious injuries, car accidents, maritime accidents, wrongful death, slip & fall, toxic torts and product liability cases. We have locations in Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Jupiter and Port St. Lucie, Florida. Visit our firm website at www.labovick.com for more injury information.

 

 

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When it came to changing Florida's no-fault auto insurance law, state Sen. Bill Posey said he was given two choices: Fix it or trash it.

The Senate instead listened quietly Thursday while Posey, R-Rockledge, explained a proposal that would extend through January 2012 the state's no-fault law, which provides a minimum of $10,000 of personal injury protection, or PIP, to people injured in auto accidents.

The Florida No Fault Insurance Law is set to expire in October.

Click Here to read more on the No Fault Insurance Debate in the Palm Beach Post

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